Money

It Is “The Toughest Time In Years” To Be Looking For A Job In The U.S. – One 64-Year-Old Man Has Been Waking Up At 3 AM To Search For Work And Can’t Find Anything

September 7, 2025September 7, 2025 by Michael

Are we defined by what we do? For so many of us, our identities are tied to our occupations. For example, when I worked in the legal field many years ago so many of my colleagues took great pride in being able to say “I’m a lawyer” when they were asked about their lives. Unfortunately, we live in a society where our personal worth is largely determined by what kind of jobs we have or how much money we make. I wish that our society did not look at people this way, but that is the reality of the world that we live in now. Unfortunately, large numbers of Americans are now losing the jobs that they value so much, and competition for any good jobs that do happen to be available has become extremely fierce. In fact, I am going to share a story with you in this article that is so extreme that you may not believe it, but it is actually true.

When someone is unemployed for an extended period of time, it can be absolutely soul crushing.

If you have been there, you know exactly what I am talking about.

You don’t want anyone to ask you what you do, because it can make you feel worthless.

Without a job, your status in society is greatly diminished, and many will look on you with pity.

And with each passing day, the bills just keep on piling up.

A few years ago, it was relatively easy to find work, but now conditions have changed dramatically. The following comes from a Washington Post article entitled “Why it’s the toughest time to be searching for work in America in years”…

It’s the toughest time in years to be searching for work in America.

New data last week showed a fourth month of tepid job growth and propelled joblessness to its highest level since late 2021, when the economy was still recovering from the effects of the covid-19 pandemic. Now, as companies wrestle with inflation, economic uncertainty and trade policy whiplash, many are shredding payrolls and shifting tasks to artificial intelligence while pulling in higher profits. And some executives are pointedly broadcasting sizable layoffs as wins, a sign they’re making workforces leaner and more efficient.

There are so many people out there that are searching for work right now.

At the same time, postings for available jobs are rapidly drying up…

Meanwhile, job postings fell across nearly every sector compared with a year ago, with the steepest declines recorded in child care, community and social service, scientific research, retail, and hospitality, according to the employment website Indeed. Administrative roles such as human resources and accounting also posted double-digit declines.

If you find yourself unemployed at this moment, I feel so badly for you.

The job market is so rough, but you can’t give up, because the market is only going to get even tighter as the weeks roll along.

Earlier today, I came across a story about a 64-year-old unemployed man that is absolutely heartbreaking.

He has a very hard time sleeping because he doesn’t have a job, and so he often gets up around 3 AM to search for work…

I often wake up around 3 a.m. with my mind racing — thinking about which roles to apply to or what job search strategy to try next.

Instead of trying to fall back asleep, I usually get up and start working on my job search, which includes sending out applications or post-interview thank you letters. Around 6 a.m., I typically might make breakfast, shower, and then start planning out what I want to accomplish that day. It’s become a sort of routine.

His name is Matthew English and he has decades of experience in accounting.

But even though he has applied for hundreds of jobs, he has been out of work since last October…

I’ve been looking for a full-time job since October 2024, after a decadeslong career in accounting.

Submitting hundreds of applications and spending countless hours on my job search have led to several interviews, but I haven’t been able to secure an offer.

I’ve applied for jobs related to my accounting background, but I’ve also expanded my search to any part-time or full-time job I feel I could perform — including entry-level, non-skilled positions. I even applied to be the Chick-fil-A cow mascot at a Birmingham location.

That last sentence really hit me hard.

He is so desperate to find something that he is even willing to put on a cow costume and be a mascot at a Chick-fil-A location.

But he was not hired for that either.

Meanwhile, large employers continue to conduct mass layoffs all over the nation…

In the past eight months, Kroger — the nation’s largest supermarket chain — has overseen three rounds of layoffs. The latest, announced last month, included 1,000 corporate staff and mainly affected its technology and digital team, according to LinkedIn posts from former employees.

Nike, which has reported softening sales and an estimated $1 billion a year hit from tariffs, said this week it would lay off nearly 1 percent of its corporate staff while the sporting gear maker undergoes a “realignment.” Estée Lauder, which expects a $100 million tariff bill this fiscal year, cut 7,000 jobs in February, about 11 percent of its staff.

I have been warning for months that this was going to happen.

Now we are here.

According to economist Mark Zandi, quite a few U.S. states are already experiencing recessionary conditions…

Leading economist Mark Zandi has warned that a third of the US is already in or at high risk of going into a recession.

Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, revealed that states making up nearly a third of America’s GDP – including Virginia, Connecticut and Delaware – are in dangerous territory.

‘States experiencing recessions are spread across the country, but the broader DC area stands out due to government job cuts,’ Zandi wrote on X.

Of course many would argue that it feels like the entire country has already plunged into a recession.

I think that it would be very difficult to refute that.

But what we are experiencing now is not even worth comparing to what is coming.

Individually, we can’t change the circumstances in which we currently find ourselves.

But we can change how we respond to them.

Don’t you dare give up.

Your past does not have to define your future.

No matter what your circumstances may be at this moment, the best chapters of your life can still be ahead of you.

Do not allow yourself to be defined by your employment status of by how much money you have.

We were all put here for a reason, and times of transition can be a perfect opportunity to explore your reason for being here.

Life is about so much more than jobs and money.

Once you discover that, everything changes.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The Employment Numbers Are Screaming That We Have A Major Crisis On Our Hands

September 5, 2025September 5, 2025 by Michael

The employment numbers for the month of August were just released, and they are horrible. Sadly, they have now been horrible for several months in a row, and many economists are warning that conditions will get even worse during the months ahead. Other than during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, we haven’t seen anything like this since the Great Recession. If you have a job that you value, hold on to it very tightly, and if you are currently looking for work try to find something as soon as you can before competition for jobs becomes even more intense.

Each month, the U.S. economy must add about 150,000 new jobs just to keep up with population growth.

According to the BLS, the U.S. economy only added 22,000 new jobs during the month of August…

U.S. job growth continued to slow down in August, with just 22,000 new jobs—a sign that the labor market is deteriorating markedly.

Friday’s report adds to a summer of slow hiring and points to a stagnant job market that has lengthened job searches, shut young people out of employment and increased unemployment for Black workers.

This number was much worse than most analysts were projecting.

After the report was released, one prominent economist stated that it looks like the U.S. economy is “heading into turbulence without the soft landing achieved”…

“The job market is stalling short of the runway,” said Daniel Zhao, chief economist at jobs site Glassdoor. “The labor market is losing lift, and August’s report, along with downward revisions, suggests we’re heading into turbulence without the soft landing achieved.”

Just like we have seen so many times before, the figure for the month of August will probably end up much lower once it is revised.

So by the time it is all said and done, I expect that the final number for the month of August will actually be negative.

Interestingly, the number for the month of June was just revised down into negative territory…

On Friday, the BLS revised the prior two months’ data, showing that employers shed 13,000 jobs in June, revising the month’s hiring downward by 27,000 fewer jobs. That marks the first monthly decline in hiring since December 2020, when the U.S. was in the midst of an economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

Please read that last sentence again.

Thanks to the birth-death model, it is very difficult for the BLS to actually produce a negative number.

The last time it happened there were lockdowns all over the nation due to the pandemic.

But now the number for June is negative.

That is a huge red flag, and Mark Zandi is suggesting that the U.S. economy may have already entered the next recession…

“It’s clear the job market is struggling,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told Fortune. “The economy is on the edge of recession: In fact, we may already be in one. As more revisions come in, it will probably show that employment is declining in a consistent way.”

Overall, during the first eight months of this year the U.S. economy has added the fewest jobs that we have seen since 2009.

Do you remember 2009?

The Great Recession was a very difficult time.

Would our country be able to handle another downturn of that magnitude?

Personally, I think that it is a really bad sign that our economy continues to bleed manufacturing jobs…

The United States lost 12,000 manufacturing jobs for the month, continuing a downward trend since its most recent peak in February 2023, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

But it is happening.

As I discussed yesterday, the numbers that we are getting are confirming over and over again that the U.S. economy is heading in the wrong direction.

Unfortunately, we are being warned that our problems could soon accelerate even more.

One economist is telling us that “the labor market has headed off a cliff-edge”…

“August’s employment report confirmed that the labor market has headed off a cliff-edge,” Bradley Saunders, North America economist at Capital Economics, said in a Friday research report.

That doesn’t sound good at all.

If you want to look for a silver lining, the good news is that it looks like the Federal Reserve will probably give us a rate cut next month.

One economist is urging the Fed to give us rate cuts in October and December too…

“The Federal Reserve needs to cut interest rates in September and probably October and December, too. The ‘no hiring’ economy is turning to a layoff economy and if that worsens, it will lead to a recession. This needs to be stopped,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said in an email.

Hopefully those rate cuts will actually happen, because we desperately need them.

But cutting rates will not reverse our economic momentum.

And the government numbers are not giving us the full picture.

As I have documented in previous articles, government economic numbers almost always make things look better than they actually are.

I believe that the numbers that we get from private sources are much more accurate. According to a new report that was just released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the number of announced job cuts in August was 39 percent higher than it was in July…

U.S.-based employers announced 85,979 job cuts in August, up 39% from the 62,075 announced in July. It is up 13% from the 75,891 announced in the same month last year, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

August’s total was the highest for the month since 2020 when 115,762 job cuts were recorded. After 2020, it is the highest August total since the thick of the Great Recession in 2008, when 88,736 cuts were announced. August marks the sixth time this year that the job cut total surpassed that of the corresponding month one year prior.

Can anyone out there think of a way to make those numbers look good?

Because I can’t.

Overall, the number of announced job cuts in the United States is up 66 percent compared to last year…

So far this year, companies have announced 892,362 job cuts, the highest YTD since 2020 when 1,963,458 were announced. It is up 66% from the 536,421 job cuts announced through the first eight months of last year and is up 17% from the 2024 full year total of 761,358.

That last number totally blew me away.

We still have four months left to go in 2025, and we have already beat last year’s grand total by 17 percent.

Let’s be very honest with ourselves.

We have a major crisis on our hands.

And as bad as things are now, the truth is that they will soon get even worse.

The consequences of decades of incredibly bad decisions are starting to catch up with us in a major way.

Brace yourselves and your families for what is coming next, because the months ahead are not going to be pretty.

We Just Got 6 More Confirmations That The U.S. Economy Is Moving In The Wrong Direction

September 4, 2025 by Michael

Nobody can deny that the U.S. economy deteriorated dramatically during the four years that Joe Biden was in the White House. In fact, it was probably the biggest reason why the Democrats lost control of the White House. The American people were desperate for change, because economic conditions had become extremely painful. Of course the Biden years were just one chapter in America’s long-term economic decline. Debt levels have been exploding and our standard of living has been deteriorating for a very long time, but there was hope that conditions would start to improve in 2025.

Unfortunately, that has not materialized. As I have documented in previous articles, large companies are going bankrupt at the fastest pace that we have seen since the global financial crisis, the housing bubble is starting to burst, 78 percent of HR leaders in the U.S. say that their companies are conducting “serial layoffs”, store closings are on pace to set a brand new record high in 2025, and in 25 percent of all U.S. households at least one person is skipping meals so that there will be enough money to pay the bills.

Nobody that understands those facts can claim that the U.S. economy is in good shape.

And we just got 6 more confirmations that the U.S. economy is moving in the wrong direction…

#1 A shocking CBS News/YouGov survey that was just released has discovered that the percentage of Americans that believe that economic conditions are getting worse is more than twice as high as the percentage of Americans that believe that economic conditions are getting better…

According to the latest CBS News/YouGov survey, Americans are repeatedly rating the economy unfavorably, with a majority of respondents choosing the words “uncertain” and “struggling” to describe its current state. Other words, including “unfair” (37%), “punishing” (25%), “rebounding” (20%), “expanding” (15%), and “fair” (14%), trailed behind.

Most U.S. adults believe the economy is getting worse rather than improving, the poll found. Fifty-six percent of respondents said the economy is trending downward, 27% said it is trending upward and 17% argue it is remaining steady.

#2 The U.S. economy must produce about 150,000 new jobs each month just to keep up with population growth. So the fact that ADP is reporting that we were below that level once again last month is a very troubling sign…

U.S. private sector hiring rose less than expected in August, data released Thursday shows, offering the latest indication of trouble in the labor market.

Private payrolls increased by just 54,000 in August, according to data from processing firm ADP published Thursday morning. That’s below the consensus forecast of 75,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones and marks a significant slowdown from the revised gain of 106,000 seen in the prior month.

#3 Initial claims for unemployment benefits increased to 237,000 last week…

Jobless claims increased to 237,000, up 8,000 from the prior week and above estimates, per data also published Thursday morning.

#4 The number of job openings in the U.S. has fallen to the lowest level in nearly five years…

Job openings ticked down in July to levels rarely seen since the Covid-19 pandemic, bolstering fears of cooling in the labor market.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover report showed around 7.18 million listings in July, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday. That’s only the second reading under the 7.2 million level since the end of 2020.

#5 Mass layoffs continue to happen all over the nation. For example, ConocoPhillips is reducing its workforce by 20 to 25 percent…

ConocoPhillips, one of the largest independent exploration and production (E&P) companies in the U.S., told employees earlier that it plans to reduce its overall workforce by around 25%. The announcement comes as U.S. economic data show signs of softening, such as the disappointing jobs figures earlier today, which have pushed the odds of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut later this month to nearly 96%. WTI crude prices are trading lower amid increased concerns about OPEC supply.

A company spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that ConocoPhillips will cut its workforce by 20% to 25%. At the end of 2024, the company employed 11,800 people globally. A 25% reduction would put nearly 3,000 jobs at risk.

#6 U.S. manufacturing activity has now contracted for sixth months in a row…

U.S. manufacturing contracted for a sixth straight month in August as factories dealt with the fallout from the Trump administration’s import tariffs, with some manufacturers describing the current business environment as “much worse than the Great Recession.”

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey on Tuesday also showed some manufacturers complaining that the sweeping import duties were making it difficult to manufacture goods in the United States.

The steady decline in manufacturing activity that we are witnessing is an early warning sign.

Pretty soon the ripple effects will be felt throughout the rest of the economy.

I wish that I could honestly tell you that a major economic turnaround was right around the corner.

But I can’t do that.

The four years of the Biden administration did an immense amount of damage to our economy.

At the end of last year I warned that all of our economic momentum was taking us in the wrong direction, and that is still true today.

If you think that economic conditions are bad now, just wait, because the next few years are going to be extremely chaotic.

As I stated the other day, consequences do not always show up immediately, but they always arrive eventually.

The federal government is 37 trillion dollars in debt, U.S. households are 18 trillion dollars in debt, the value of our currency is being destroyed, our standard of living gets worse with each passing day, and the Federal Reserve has made a giant mess of things.

So yeah, I am not optimistic about the economy.

I know that so many of you are really struggling in this very harsh economic environment.

No matter what happens, you must never give up.

The system is failing, but you must not ever allow your life to be defined by what happens to the system.

You are here for a reason, and it will be so important to remember that during the very challenging days that are ahead.

“Controlled Access” Is One Of The Hottest Trends Among America’s Ultra-Wealthy Elite

September 3, 2025 by Michael

One of the things that America’s ultra-wealthy elite want more than anything else is spaces where access is very tightly controlled so that they can remain separate from those of us in the general population. When I was growing up, getting into the right club or the right neighborhood was considered to be a status symbol, but these days the primary purpose of “controlled access” institutions is to keep the wrong people out. The ultra-wealthy elite can see what is happening to the general population as a whole, and they simply do not want to interact with it. As a result, our society is increasingly being segregated according to wealth. Those that have lots of money get to live the high life, while most of the rest of us are deeply struggling.

Have you ever been to Fisher Island?

Unless you have plenty of money, you probably have not.

The island covers about half a square mile, and it has become the most expensive zip code in the United States…

While the rich and famous are busy flocking to Indian Creek Village’s Billionaire Bunker, that one-half-square-mile isle still falls behind the even smaller (0.27 square miles!), ultrarich enclave of Fisher Island off Miami Beach when it comes to the most expensive zip code in Florida.

According to a report by the Robb Report, Fisher Island is not only the most expensive zip code in the Sunshine State but also the highest-priced of any in all of the 50 states nationwide. The luxury lifestyle magazine compiled the report using median home listing price and median square footage drawn from Realtor.com. The median home price in Fisher Island’s 33109 zip code is a cool $12.45 million, and the median square footage is only 3,842 square feet. Luxury condos on the island are valued as high as $85 million.

Since it is entirely surrounded by water, it is very easy to control access to Fisher Island.

Security on the island is extremely tight, and unless you live there or were put on the guest list by someone that lives there “you cannot come in”…

“It’s an island that everybody wants to have access to see. The security over there is very tight,” said Toledano, who expects to complete the newly built Residences at Six Fisher Island next year. “Unless you live on the island, unless you’re invited as a guest of someone on the island, and you’re on the guest list, you cannot come in.”

The homes on Fisher Island are not that big.

And there are other areas in South Florida that are probably nicer.

But it is the controlled access that makes Fisher Island so appealing.

Controlled access is also being used by certain retailers to make themselves more appealing to the ultra-wealthy.

For example, America’s most luxurious grocery store is coming to New York City, but the initiation fee and the annual dues will make it impossible for anyone from the general population to shop there…

Sundberg reviewed the pitch deck for the exclusive club, revealing that those who want to step foot inside will have to fork over a $36,000 initiation fee plus $7,000 in annual dues.

The plans revealed that the Erewhon will be situated next to a cold plunge and treatment rooms.

The club will also have a living room, a gym, a boutique, locker rooms, and a relaxation room, according to the floor plan shared by Fieg.

This is segregation based on wealth.

And for now, it is perfectly legal.

On the other end of the spectrum, government-owned supermarkets are starting to open up in major cities across the nation.

In fact, the city of Atlanta just opened up their very first government-owned supermarket…

Atlanta opened its first municipal grocery store, Azalea Fresh Market, inside the historic Olympia Building.
The project is designed to bring affordable, healthy food to a USDA-designated low-income, low-access area.
Mayor Andre Dickens says the next city-run grocery store will open on Campbellton Road.

These projects always sound nice at the beginning, but they always end up being total dumps.

Personally, I have absolutely no interest in shopping at any of the “Soviet supermarkets” that are starting to pop up around the country.

But this is where our society is heading.

The ultra-wealthy get to enjoy the best that America has to offer, and the rest of us are being pushed out.

In the 1970s, everyone could afford a day of skiing at Vail. But now only the wealthy can afford it…

The numbers are enough to make dedicated ski bums reconsider their life choices.

Deer Valley Resort in Utah will charge up to $329 for peak-day lift tickets this season, while Colorado resorts Vail and Beaver Creek have also hit the $329 mark.

Utah’s Park City joins the $300-plus club at $299 for peak days. Back in 1972, a day at Vail cost $9. That represents a 3,600% increase over a couple generations of skiers.

Today, close to two-thirds of the U.S. population is living paycheck to paycheck.

But the good news is that we now have more than 1,000 billionaires…

“Billionaire” evokes tech founders such as Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates, but there is a large and growing group of people worth at least $1 billion in small towns and big cities that rarely make the headlines.

There were 1,135 billionaires in the U.S. as of 2024—up from 927 in 2020, according to data from Altrata, a wealth intelligence firm. The biggest concentration, 255 of them, is in California. But the super rich are also behind businesses in places such as Ridgeland, Miss., and Waunakee, Wisc.

The primary reason why the ultra-wealthy are doing so well is because the stock market has been booming…

Stocks are coming off an impressive run: The Dow and S&P 500 just recorded four consecutive months of gains. The S&P 500 has notched 20 record highs this year, and the blue-chip Dow in August hit its first record high since December.

I hope that the ultra-wealthy enjoy this boom while they can, because it will not last.

What goes up must come down.

And right now the Buffett Indicator has reached a level which is deeply alarming many experts…

Legendary investor Warren Buffett’s favorite market indicator, which compares a measure of the total value of the US stock market to the value of US economic growth, is also flashing a warning sign. The Buffett Indicator is at 217%, a historically high level that signals the stock market might be strongly overvalued.

“On the face of it, the US market is expensive,” Arun Sai, senior multi-asset strategist at Pictet Asset Management, said. “There are no two ways about it.”

It is inevitable that this bubble will burst too.

But for now soaring stock prices are allowing the richest 10 percent of all Americans to control 60 percent of the wealth…

The top 10% of wealthy Americans now control 60% of the nation’s wealth, while the poorer half of the country holds only 6%, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.

Left-leaning think tanks produce regular updates on growing wealth inequality in America. This analysis, though, comes from a nonpartisan federal agency, one whose findings regularly inconvenience both Democrats and Republicans.

The new report, released this month, illustrates the role of Social Security in shoring up the wealth of middle-class and working-class Americans. If you subtract Social Security from the equation, the top 10% control nearly 70% of the nation’s wealth, and the bottom half holds only 3%.

The gap between the wealthy and the rest of us is even worse in left-leaning states such as California…

The richest 0.1% of Californians had an average income of $12.9 million in 2022 (the most recent year for which data are available) — about 250 times the average income of middle-income Californians ($51,300). The top 0.1% earn in just over a day what the average middle-income Californian makes in an entire year. The richest 1% of Californians, with an average income of $2.6 million in 2022, can make in about one week what the average middle-income Californian earns in a year.

The rich have piled up wealth in these very troubled times.

They may think that it will protect them as society falls apart.

But of course the truth is that money will not insulate anyone from what is coming.

In fact, when things really start hitting the fan I have a feeling that rich neighborhoods will be specifically targeted by unruly mobs.

So hopefully the wealthy are enjoying living the high life for now, because it won’t be too long before conditions dramatically change.

New Poll Finds Nearly 70% Of Us Think The American Dream Is Dead, And The Month Of September Is Typically The Worst Month Of The Year For The Stock Market

September 2, 2025September 2, 2025 by Michael

I kept warning about what would happen to our economy if we stayed on the path that we were on. For decades, our leaders have been making unbelievably bad decisions, and now the consequences are really starting to catch up with us. The cost of living has become incredibly painful, a larger housing bubble than the one that we faced just prior to the Great Recession is beginning to burst, and large companies are conducting mass layoffs all over the country. We were handed the keys to the greatest economic machine that the world has ever seen, and our leaders have completely wrecked it. As a result, economic pessimism has soared to unprecedented heights.

If you don’t believe me, consider what a new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll just discovered.

Almost 70 percent of us now believe that the American Dream is dead, and only 25 percent of Americans think that they “have a good chance of improving their standard of living”…

America is becoming a nation of economic pessimists.

A new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll finds that the share of people who say they have a good chance of improving their standard of living fell to 25%, a record low in surveys dating to 1987. More than three-quarters said they lack confidence that life for the next generation will be better than their own, the poll found.

Nearly 70% of people said they believe the American dream—that if you work hard, you will get ahead—no longer holds true or never did, the highest level in nearly 15 years of surveys.

Those numbers are absolutely dismal.

But things didn’t have to turn out this way.

Following the Great Recession, many of us laid out plans for fundamentally transforming the system.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead, our leaders simply patched up the old system and started inflating bubbles that ended up becoming much larger than the bubbles that burst the last time around.

Now we are on the verge of another global financial crisis, and throughout our history the month of September has typically been the worst month of the year for the stock market…

History shows that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has generated an average monthly decline of 1.1% in September and finished higher only 42.2% of the time dating back to 1897, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

September has also been the worst month of the year for the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite which have averaged monthly declines of 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively. The S&P 500 has finished higher only 44.9% of the time since 1928, while the Nasdaq has registered positive monthly returns 51.9% of the time dating back to 1971, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

“The financial markets often shift gears in September, moving away from the quiet summer months marked by low trading volumes and limited volatility, and entering a period historically associated with seasonal weakness and increased market instability,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial.

But if you are waiting for the next big stock market crash, you might want to closely watch the month of October.

9 of the 20 biggest single day percentage losses for the Dow Jones Industrial Average have occurred in October. That includes “Black Monday” on October 28th, 1929 and “Black Monday” on October 19th, 1987.

The stage has certainly been set for financial turmoil in 2025.

Economic activity has been slowing down all over the nation, and economist Mark Zandi is warning that the economy “feels like it’s on the brink” of a recession…

But to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, the warning signs—or “red indicators”—are showing up in every corner, from housing to employment to consumer prices. In an interview with Newsweek, Zandi said that his monthslong fears of a major economic downturn may soon come to a head, and that the U.S. economy could slip into a recession by the end of 2025.

“I don’t think the economy is in a recession, at least not at this point,” he said, “but it feels like it’s on the brink, it’s on the precipice of this recession.”

This year, large companies have been going bankrupt at the fastest pace that we have seen since the last global financial crisis.

And we have just learned that the delinquency rate on office mortgages that have been securitized into commercial mortgage-backed securities has now risen to the highest level ever…

The office and multifamily sectors of commercial real estate loans got further bludgeoned in August, despite large-scale extend-and-pretend and forbearance deals executed in the hopes for better times and lower interest rates and more demand so that lenders don’t end up with the property and a huge loss.

The delinquency rate of office mortgages that have been securitized into commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) spiked to 11.7% in August, the worst ever, a full percentage point above even the peak meltdown rate of the Financial Crisis (10.7%), according to data by Trepp , which tracks and analyzes CMBS.

Back in December 2022, the office CMBS delinquency rate was still 1.6%. Since then, it has exploded by over 10 percentage points.

This is a major league red flag.

It would be very difficult to overstate how serious this is.

Our financial institutions are going to get burned so badly as these mortgages go bad.

Meanwhile, residential real estate is in a depressed state and home prices are starting to crash in many parts of the nation.

Many young adults are actually quite eager for home prices to crash, because the vast majority of them have been completely priced out of the market…

The chart above was posted by Nathan Halberstadt on Twitter, and it is very powerful evidence that the middle class is dying.

As older middle class Americans die off, they aren’t being replaced by sufficient numbers of young adults because a middle class lifestyle is simply out of reach for most of them.

And the cost of living just continues to go higher with each passing day.

Just look at the price of beef. It has risen to absolutely absurd levels, and that is because the size of the U.S. cattle herd has fallen to the lowest level that we have seen since 1951…

This year, the U.S. cattle inventory dropped to around 86 million heads. That represents the herd’s smallest size since 1951, and things are going to get worse before they get better.

One of the primary reasons why the U.S. cattle herd has gotten so small is due to the long-term drought in the western half of the country…

A lot of it has to do with a prolonged three-year drought that’s hit America’s key cattle regions hard. This has led to increased feed costs, which has pushed a lot of ranchers to liquidate breeding cattle.

As you can imagine, these short-term decisions have long-term impacts on the supply cycle.

It doesn’t take a hardened ranch hand to know that livestock operates on long production cycles. A lot of producers operate on a 10-year cycle — and because it takes at least two years for new calves to reach butcher weight, USDA forecasts reckon that herd numbers won’t catch up with demand until 2031.

How many times over the past several years have I written about that drought and the implications that it would have?

But a lot of people didn’t want to take me seriously.

Consequences don’t always show up immediately, but they always show up eventually.

And if we don’t reverse course, there are some extremely severe consequences that will soon be heading our way.

If we choose to do what is right, we will be blessed as a nation.

But if we choose a different path, we will get much different results.

The Big List Of 18 Things That Are Going To Happen Within The Next 40 Days

September 1, 2025September 1, 2025 by Michael

During the month of September and the early portion of October, we will witness a remarkable convergence of events. Of course this convergence of events just happens to be occurring at a time when it feels like this period of history is building up to some sort of a crescendo. 2025 has been a year of war, it has been “the year of the fire”, it has been “the year of the flood”, it has been a year when we have witnessed a highly unusual number of earthquakes, and it has been a year when horrifying pestilences have been erupting all over the globe. So it has already been a really crazy year. But could it be possible that it is about to get even crazier?

I think that there are good reasons to be on high alert during the weeks ahead. The following is the big list of 18 things that are going to happen within the next 40 days…

September 1 – This marks the beginning of FEMA’s annual “National Preparedness Month”

September 1 – Labor Day

September 2 – According to the Times of Israel, approximately 60,000 reservists are being called up to participate in military operations inside Gaza, and most of those reservists will be reporting for duty on September 2nd…

Some 60,000 Israeli reservists were set to receive call-up orders that the military will issue starting Wednesday for an offensive against Hamas in Gaza City, after Defense Minister Israel Katz approved the army’s plans, according to the Israel Defense Forces and security officials.

The orders were not immediate, but rather were slated to take place in several waves. The majority — around 40,000-50,000 — would be ordered to show up for duty on September 2.

September 3 – An annual Islamic festival commemorating the birthday of Muhammad

September 7 – There will be a “spectacular ‘blood moon’ total lunar eclipse” on this date…

Get ready stargazers!

In just one week, Earth’s shadow will roll across the lunar surface, giving rise to a spectacular ‘blood moon’ total lunar eclipse on Sept. 7-8.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when Earth passes between the moon and sun, casting its shadow over our natural satellite. The tilted orbit of Earth’s moon prevents us from experiencing a total lunar eclipse every month during the new moon phase. However, about three times every year, orbital mechanics conspire to bring the Earth, moon and sun into perfect alignment, setting the stage for a breathtaking lunar spectacle.

September 7 to September 12 – NATO will be conducting a major “emergency management exercise”…

NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and the Directorate General Fire Safety and Civil Protection (DG FSCP) of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior are organizing NATO’s 20th Emergency Management exercise, “BULGARIA 2025”. The conduct of BULGARIA 2025 will be from 7 September 2025 to 12 September 2025.

September 11 – The 24th anniversary (12 + 12) of 9/11

September 17 – Constitution Day – most Americans do not even know that this holiday exists

September 17 to September 19 – President Trump will be making a state visit to the United Kingdom

September 21 – A partial solar eclipse will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere…

On Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, a deep partial solar eclipse will be visible from some remote areas of the Southern Hemisphere.

Despite being a partial solar eclipse, it will be relatively major. It will also occur a day before the equinox.

The Sept. 21 event will be the second and final solar eclipse of 2025. The maximum 80% partial eclipse will be visible from the Southern Ocean midway between New Zealand and a largely remote part of Antarctica, with the more frequently visited Antarctica Peninsula experiencing only a 12% partial eclipse, shortly before sunset.

September 21 – The UN International Day Of Peace

September 22 – The Autumnal Equinox (the start of Fall) occurs on this day…

At 2:20 p.m. EDT today, it’s the fall/autumnal equinox. It marks the point when the midday sun is directly above the equator, with everywhere on the planet getting (roughly) 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Today, the sun will rise due east and set due west. From this point on, nights will get longer.

September 22 – Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown

September 23 – High-Level General Debate for the 80th session of the UN General Assembly begins on this date. It has been widely reported that France, the United Kingdom, Canada and many other western nations are expected to officially recognize a Palestinian state somewhere around this time.

October 1 – Yom Kippur

October 3 – This is the date when a gigantic space rock that originated outside of our solar system known as 3I/ATLAS will pass alarmingly close to the planet Mars…

October 5 – The Feast of Tabernacles begins

October 7 – This will be the second anniversary of the October 7th terror attacks on Israel

There has been so much chatter about the month of September on social media.

Some of the theories that are being floated are interesting, and some of the theories that are being floated are simply absurd.

Let me share with you some of the trends that I will be watching in the months ahead.

First of all, I am convinced that we are moving into a season of more war. I expect the conflict in Ukraine to escalate as long-range missiles are fired into Russia, tensions with Venezuela are rapidly rising, and other hotspots around the world could erupt at any moment. But at the moment I am watching the Middle East more closely than anywhere else. Turkey just cut off all relations with Israel, and the unfolding drama that is playing out in Gaza is going to be a huge story.

And it certainly won’t take much for missiles to start flying back and forth between Israel and Iran again.

In addition, I expect that famine and pestilence will be major themes during the months ahead. So I will be monitoring developments regarding those two topics very carefully. For much more on where I believe global events are heading, please see my new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next”.

As events accelerate, a lot of people out there are going to be absolutely shocked to find themselves right in the middle of the chaos that is enveloping the globe.

We tend to think of war, famine, pestilence and great seismic catastrophes as things that happen on the other side of the world.

For now, that is true to a certain degree.

But it is just a matter of time before there won’t be anywhere to run from the apocalyptic events that are beginning to rock our planet.

Large Companies In The U.S. Are Going Bankrupt At The Fastest Pace That We Have Seen Since The Global Financial Crisis

August 28, 2025August 28, 2025 by Michael

Is the fact that large companies are filing for bankruptcy at the fastest pace in 15 years a good sign for the economy or a bad sign for the economy? I don’t even have to answer that question because all of you already know the answer. And as you will see below, other types of bankruptcies are soaring as well. We are a nation that is absolutely drowning in debt, and now bubbles are bursting all around us. I hope that you have positioned yourself for what is about to happen, because the months ahead are going to be rough.

According to Newsweek, 446 large companies filed for bankruptcy during the first seven months of this year. That is the highest total that we have seen since 2010…

The U.S. saw a sharp increase in corporate bankruptcy filings in July, according to a recent report, reaching a post-COVID peak and placing 2025 on track to surpass last year’s total.

S&P Global Market Intelligence, the research and data arm of the credit-rating agency, found that filings by large public and private companies rose to 71 last month from 66 in June, marking the highest monthly tally since July 2020. So far in 2025, meanwhile, the total of 446 bankruptcy filings is the highest for this seven-month stretch since 2010.

In 2010, we were experiencing the tail end of the global financial crisis.

So there was a very good reason for why so many large companies were going bankrupt at that time.

What reason do we have for what we are witnessing right now?

Of course it isn’t just large companies that are going bankrupt in staggering numbers…

Personal and business bankruptcy filings rose 11.5 percent in the twelve-month period ending June 30, 2025, compared with the previous year.

According to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, annual bankruptcy filings totaled 542,529 in the year ending June 2025, compared with 486,613 cases in the previous year.

Business filings rose 4.5 percent, from 22,060 to 23,043 in the year ending June 30, 2025. Non-business bankruptcy filings rose 11.8 percent to 519,486, compared with 464,553 in the previous year.

Wow.

I had no idea that the bankruptcy numbers were that bad.

An 11.5 percent increase in bankruptcy filings in just one year is a really troubling sign.

And it turns out that the number of farm bankruptcies in the United States has been spiking as well…

Hit with high interest rates and labor shortages, more American farmers are filing for bankruptcy, according to new data from the University of Arkansas.

Researchers found that more than 250 farms filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy between April 2024 and March of this year, marking a sharp increase in financial distress across the agricultural sector.

“We’ve already beat last year in terms of Q1 national filings,” said Ryan Loy, an economist at the university. “Once you see this on a national level, it’s a clear sign that financial pressures that we saw before in the 2018 and ‘19 are kind of reemerging.”

A lot of people out there are in denial about what is really happening to the economy.

We have been on an unprecedented debt binge for many years, and now we are beginning to experience the consequences.

Millions upon millions of Americans are in way over their heads, and there is no easy way out.

At this point, approximately two-thirds of Americans that are carrying debt admit “to minimizing or hiding it from others”…

The study of 1,078 adults by Self Financial exposes a nation drowning not just in debt, but in the shame that comes with it. Of those carrying debt, 66.3% admitted to minimizing or hiding it from others. This breaks down to 28.1% outright lying about their situation, 20.8% downplaying how bad things really are, and 17.4% avoiding the topic entirely.

We may want to hide our financial distress from others, but there is no way to hide it from ourselves.

Americans have become so obsessed with financial troubles that they are thinking about it constantly…

Between bills to pay, tariff news and inflation worries, money is living rent-free in Americans’ minds.

They’re spending nearly four hours a day on average thinking about it, according to new research from Empower, a financial services company.

Needless to say, that isn’t healthy.

Continually worrying about your finances can eat you alive.

But this is what daily life is like for so many people these days. One recent survey discovered that 53 percent of Americans are feeling financial stress “more acutely than ever”…

At 54%, a little more than half of the 2,206 adults surveyed said they’re thinking about it more than they did last year. In fact, the June survey found 53% of Americans said they’re feeling financial stress “more acutely than ever,” including 62% of Gen Xers and 41% of baby boomers.

One of the biggest reasons why Americans are feeling so much financial stress is because we are spending an average of 42 percent of our incomes on housing costs…

More than half of Americans say they’re paying too much for housing, with the average person spending 42% of their income on housing costs.

Meanwhile, just about everything else that we regularly spend money on has been getting increasingly more expensive.

For example, beef prices just keep hitting brand new record high after brand new record high…

Grocery prices have been climbing and one area where prices have hit a record high is beef, a staple for many households.

Ground beef, usually the inexpensive choice for shoppers, has hit a record high. Shoppers can expect to pay $6.25 per pound, up from $5.49 a year ago and $4.26 five years ago, in July of 2020.

The average price for beef steaks has hit $11.87 a pound as of July. That’s up from $10.85 in July of 2024 and $8.69 in July of 2020.

And coffee prices have jumped more than 30 percent over the past year…

A more than 30% year-over-year rise in retail prices for coffee is staggering — and consumers are not likely to see relief anytime soon, even as a merger between two beverage giants looks to create an entity that can better manage rising costs.

If we stick our heads in the sand and keep repeating “everything is going to be okay”, will that make things better?

Of course not.

We need to realize what is happening and adjust our plans accordingly if we are going to navigate through this very harsh economic environment.

For one thing, if you have a good job right now please do not give it up unless you absolutely must do so.

Mass layoffs are being conducted all over the nation, and yet another example of this was just in the news…

Nearly 1,000 corporate Kroger employees are losing their jobs after the company previously announced its intentions not to lay off employees.

The layoffs come after the grocer decided to shutter more than 60 underperforming stores by the end of 2026.

Kroger initiated the closures as a way to cut costs following its failed $25 billion merger with Albertsons.

Sadly, I think that a lot more Americans will lose their jobs in the months ahead.

And since most of the population is living paycheck to paycheck these days, those that lose their jobs are at risk of losing everything.

There was no way that we were going to be able to pile up debt indefinitely.

We have now reached the “bubbles are bursting” chapter of our story, and it certainly isn’t going to be pleasant.

The Mass Shooting In Minneapolis Followed A Pattern That Is Becoming Very Familiar

August 27, 2025August 27, 2025 by Michael

We have seen this happen way too many times before. Over and over again, mass shootings are being committed by deranged individuals that hate conservatives and hate Christians. More often than not, the shooters are deeply involved in an alternative sexual lifestyle, and so they view conservatives and Christians as their “oppressors”. Frequently, the shooters have some sort of a personal connection to the particular target that has been chosen. Of course in so many of these cases the mainstream media will completely ignore the real reason why a mass shooting has taken place. But the American people are not stupid. We can all see what is happening, and it is time for the mainstream media to start admitting the truth.

The mass shooting that just occurred in Minneapolis should be a major wake up call for all of us.

At 8:30 in the morning, the shooter showed up at the Annunciation Catholic Church dressed in all black and opened fire on children as they sat in the pews…

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said law enforcement responded to the shooting around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. O’Hara said the shooter fired a rifle through church windows and was also armed with a shotgun and a pistol.

A government official briefed on the investigation and a law enforcement source told CBS News that the shooter was wearing all black clothing.

An 8-year-old and a 10-year-old were killed while they sat in the pews. The parents of the children have been notified, O’Hara said.

Seventeen others, including 14 children, were injured.

Any church or school that does not have armed security in this environment is not being wise.

The world that we live in is completely different than it was 40 or 50 years ago.

When I was growing up, I never imagined for one second that some nut with a gun would come in to my school and start shooting.

But now our society is literally teeming with dangerous lunatics.

In this instance, the shooter blocked the church doors so that the children could not escape before he began shooting through the church windows…

Police said at least two of the church doors appeared to have been blocked by two by fours before the shooting, suggesting Westman wanted to trap the people inside.

‘During the mass, the gunman approached on the outside, on the side of the building, and began firing a rifle through the church windows towards the children sitting in the pews at the mass,’ O’Hara said.

‘Shooting through the windows, he struck children and worshipers that were inside the building.’

I don’t like to write about things like this, and I am sure that many of you don’t like to read about things like this.

But this is our world now, and sticking our heads in the sand isn’t going to do anyone any good.

FBI Director Kash Patel has announced that this mass shooting will be investigated as a hate crime…

FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI is investigating the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school mass as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime in a post on X.

“The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics,” Patel wrote.

Of course it was a hate crime.

Christians were specifically targeted for what they believe.

The shooter has been identified as Robin Westman. It has been confirmed that Westman’s name was officially changed in 2020…

Three law enforcement sources told CBS News the shooter was Robin Westman, 23, from suburban Minneapolis. Westman’s name was officially changed from Robert Westman to Robin Westman in 2020, documents show.

We have also learned that Westman was a former student of the school, and Westman’s mother previously worked there…

A law enforcement official told the New York Times that Westman is believed to have been a former student at the school. They also told the outlet the suspect’s mother previously worked at the campus.

There is the personal connection.

We see it in so many of these cases.

After adopting a new lifestyle, Westman apparently developed an intense hatred for Christians.

But instead of shooting adults, Westman came up with a plan to slaughter children.

I think that the term “demonic” accurately describes what Westman had become.

The first page of his very sick manifesto is currently circulating on social media. It clearly shows that he planned all of this well in advance.

Westman also posted a video on YouTube shortly before the mass shooting.

The video has been taken down, but it is being reported that the video revealed Westman’s “twisted obsession with other school shooters, dislike of Trump and mockery of the church”…

However, a chilling video shared on a now-deleted YouTube account appears to reveal the killer’s sick manifesto.

In the 20-minute-long video, the 23-year-old showed off her kill kit of ammunition, magazines and firearms and revealed her twisted obsession with other school shooters, dislike of Trump and mockery of the church.

I want to stress that this was not an isolated incident.

We have seen so many other similar mass shootings, and there are countless others out there that could strike at any time.

In our society today, we have such a problem with mental illness. Others would call it something else. But whatever you want to call it, there is no denying that something was very, very wrong with Robin Westman…

In the video, titled “So long and thanks for all the fish,” Westman slowly turns the pages of the red notebook, which is laid out on top of what appears to be schematic gun diagrams, one of them reading “Ruger Mark IV.”

As she flips the pages, an occasional plume of smoke is seen from the bottom of the screen, punctuated by coughs, disjointed cursing and maniacal giggles.

Each page is filled with inscrutable handwritten doggerel, much of it in Cyrillic, which includes violent ramblings such as “I have had thoughts about mass murder for a long time. I am very conflicted with writing this journal,” the text, translated by The Post, reads in part.

We are also being told that in the video Westman expressed admiration for other prominent mass shooters…

The unhinged shooter also expressed deep admiration for mass shooters — including Sandy Hook killer Adam Lanza.

“I have a deep fascination with one man in particular: Adam Lanza,” she wrote in the journal on May 23 in reference to the 20-year-old perpetrator of the worst elementary school shooting in US history, which left 20 first-grade students and six adults dead.

“Sandy Hook was my favorite, I think, exposure of school shootings.”

When one incident like this happens, it inspires others to do the same thing.

So please watch over those you love very carefully in the days ahead.

Because lunatics like Westman are literally everywhere.

And they are increasingly beginning to network with one another using the Internet. The New York Post just published an article about the rise of ultra-violent leftist groups, and I believe that what we have witnessed so far is just the beginning.

I have never seen more hatred in our society than I am seeing right now.

It is just a matter of time before all of this hatred explodes in wild and unpredictable ways, and that is why all of us need to start taking security more seriously than ever before.

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